Degenerative and traumatic damage to the articular cartilage of skeletal joints can result in pain and restricted motion. Prosthetic joint replacement surgery is frequently utilized to alleviate the pain and restore joint function. During this surgery, one or more of the articulating surfaces of the joint are replaced with prosthetic bearing components. The replacement components typically include a portion for anchoring the implant adjacent to the joint and a portion for articulating with opposing joint surfaces. For example, during knee replacement surgery, an incision is made into the knee joint to expose the joint. Portions of the articular surfaces of the tibia and femur are removed and artificial joint components are positioned to replace the removed portions. In a total knee replacement, all of the articulating compartments of the joint are replaced with prosthetic components. However, often only one compartment of the knee joint, typically the medial compartment, is impaired. In a unicondylar knee replacement, only the damaged compartment is repaired with prosthetic bearing components. In an even less invasive approach, where the damage is limited to isolated defects in the articular cartilage, it has been proposed to replace just the articular cartilage in the immediate vicinity of the defect.